[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 63 (Thursday, May 16, 2002)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E815-E816]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

[[Page E815]]



                   STUDENT CONGRESSIONAL TOWN MEETING

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. BERNARD SANDERS

                               of vermont

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, May 15, 2002

  Mr. SANDERS. Mr. Speaker, today, I recognize the outstanding work 
done by participants in my Student Congressional Town Meeting held this 
spring at the University of Vermont. These participants were part of a 
group of high school students from around Vermont who testified about 
the concerns they have as teenagers, and about what they would like to 
see government do regarding these concerns.
  I respectfully request that the following testimonials be included in 
the Congressional Record.

  On Behalf of Stephanie Horvath, Katie Blanchard, Cady Merrill, and 
                    Jesse Butler Regarding Abortion

       STEPHANIE HORVATH. We are doing our presentation on 
     abortion.
       Abortion is never an easy decision to make, but women have 
     been making these choices for thousands of years, for many 
     different reasons. Whenever society has sought to outlaw 
     abortion, it has driven women to back alleys, where this 
     procedure becomes dangerous and illegal.
       Each year 50,000 to 100,000 women die after receiving an 
     abortion in unsafe and unsanitary conditions, and an 
     estimated 20 million unsafe abortions take place each year.
       KATIE BLANCHARD. Regardless of what people around you think 
     about a decision such as abortion, it is the ultimate choice 
     of the woman, their doctor, and their god. Parental 
     involvement for minors should be necessary due to the 
     conditions performed in this surgical procedure.
       Every woman should have a supportive mentor to turn to in 
     case of an emergency following an abortion. A parent could be 
     there to care for, protect and comfort child in such a 
     situation. Most women experience such complications as loss 
     of appetite, lack of sleep, persistent crying, isolation from 
     friends, excessive anger and thoughts of suicide.
       CADY MERRILL. Although a parent's reaction could be 
     unexpected, it is normal for them to have some emotional 
     feelings about their daughter's pregnancy. It is normal to 
     feel frightened, sad, angry, betrayed and disappointed. 
     Regardless, most parents are and should be beside their child 
     through hard times, and would only help their daughter 
     through an abortion if that was her choice.
       JESSE BUTLER. Abortion is a highly sensitive topic. I'm not 
     here to debate whether it is right or wrong. I am here, 
     however, to state that I think, when an abortion is being 
     considered by a minor, at least one parent or the legal 
     guardian of the minor should be required to be involved. The 
     state has already established that minors are not allowed to 
     make many decisions or perform many actions without their 
     parent's or guardian's consent. Abortion should not be any 
     different.
       Many questions have to be considered when thinking of 
     having an abortion. Some of those questions included whether 
     or not the abortion or pregnancy or baby can be supported. 
     Another question includes whether or not a minor can deal 
     with the physical and psychological consequences of whichever 
     decision is made. All of those questions are serious 
     questions a minor may not have enough life experience to be 
     able to make good judgments on. 5 percent of the time, 
     abortion should involve a doctor's opinion. Adults will also 
     be more inclined to recognize and respect a doctor's opinion. 
     Young women may be afraid to tell their parents that they are 
     pregnant. Requiring parents to be involved in the abortion 
     decision will encourage parents to pay attention to any clues 
     that their child may be pregnant. Overall, I think if an 
     adult is involved in a decision, it is more likely that the 
     best judgment will be made.


  On Behalf of Elizabeth Echeverria and Damon Rooney Regarding Labor 
                              Exploitation

       DAMON ROONEY. First of all, I would like to thank you, 
     Congressman Sanders, for letting us come here. And I also 
     thank Lamoille; we really appreciate you switching your 
     timeframe with us.
       ELIZABETH ECHEVERRIA. We are dealing with labor 
     exploitation, and this touches on a couple of the topics that 
     were already talked about. It ties in with child labor, and 
     it ties in with free trade, and things like that.
       Do you wear brand-name clothes? Do you drink coffee? Have 
     you ever wondered where these things came from? The answer 
     may surprise you. Because many of these things are made or 
     picked by malnourished, oppressed and exploited men, woman 
     and children.
       DAMON ROONEY. I would like to read a passage written by the 
     National Labor Committee: We went there by chance on an early 
     Friday afternoon, the Muslim holiday, when the garment 
     workers were supposed to have their weekly day off. We met an 
     18-year-old girl who, minutes before, had just returned from 
     having been forced to work three 20-hour shifts in a row. She 
     had worked 64 hours in the last three days, 120 hours in the 
     last week. She was working seven days a week. Her eyes were 
     more bloodshot than I'd ever seen anyone's before. The entire 
     eyeball was pale, glassy red. She could barely speak. She was 
     not just exhausted, but she had nearly lost her voice, and 
     all that was left was a painful, low harsh rasp. This woman 
     earned 14 cents an hour, $6.83 a week, sewing clothing for 
     U.S. companies.
       ELIZABETH ECHEVERRIA. That is just one example of the 
     conditions that our American companies are fostering. People 
     all other the world, in factories like the one this woman 
     works in, are kept in abject misery and poverty. These 
     factories are poorly ventilated, poorly lighted, and, 
     basically, miserable places to be.
       In an article from the New York Times, Adelia Pinvata, who 
     investigated conditions in the San Marcos Free Trade Zone in 
     San Salvador, said, and I quote: The wages are not enough to 
     cover the basic food basket. It is a scandal. There are 
     workers who faint because of the heat inside the factories, 
     and because they are badly nourished. Various workers fainted 
     when we were there.
       An example is one of these types of factories, the Active 
     Sporting Limited factory in Bangladesh, who makes hats for 
     Rebok, Falcon Headware, Georgetown University, University of 
     Connecticut, and various other U.S. companies and 
     universities.
       I came across some disturbing facts. Many workers must put 
     in up to 60 to 70 hours of mandatory overtime a month, 
     ``mandatory overtime'' being illegal in Bangladesh. They have 
     no regular scheduled holidays. They have a maximum of two 
     days off per month. They don't even get weekends off. Their 
     wages are below the legal minimum. A maternity leave isn't 
     paid. Workers may not talk during their shifts. They must ask 
     permission to use the bathroom. Their bathroom visits are 
     timed, and the water is unsafe to drink. There are no sick 
     days allowed. And they are reportedly slapped and beaten with 
     sticks for misbehavior.
       No one could last more than 10 to 15 years. In the end, 
     they are sick, exhausted, and penniless. And it is not an 
     isolated occurrence, it is typical. For example, according to 
     an article from the October 9, 1995, edition of the New York 
     Times, in Central America free-trade zones, many factories 
     are surrounded by 15-foot cinder-block walls, barbed wire, 
     and armed guards.
       Yet these workers cannot break out of poverty and 
     degradation, because in most places, anyone who attempts to 
     form a union is methodically fired and blacklisted.
       DAMON ROONEY. Labor exploitation is a difficult problem, 
     but we can find solutions. The biggest problem is that wages 
     are too low to even buy adequate food. One obvious solution 
     to this problem is to pass legislation that forces U.S. 
     companies and their contractors to pay higher wages.
       But this is tricky, because we don't want to put them out 
     of business. We also should think twice about boycotting for 
     this reason. Because any poor laborer would agree that it is 
     better to be exploited than to have no job at all. But 
     getting them to raise their prices a little won't break them. 
     The U.S. must force them to pay subsistence wages--in other 
     words, earn enough for food, clothing, and adequate shelter. 
     And this is not that big of a demand, considering that the 
     estimated subsistence wage for Bangladesh, for example, is 
     only 34 cents an hour, or day.
       ELIZABETH ECHEVERRIA. An hour. And that is a high-end 
     estimate, by the way.
       Another approach would be to force the companies to pay the 
     workers a higher percentage of the retail value of the 
     product that they are producing. This would help level out 
     the distribution of wealth. Because, for example, according 
     to Forbes Magazine, Donald Fisher, CEO of GAP and Banana 
     Republic, is worth $1.5 billion, while hat makers in Dacca, 
     Bangladesh, receive an average of 1.6 cents for every $17.43 
     University hat they make. That means the workers are only 
     receiving .01 percent of the hat's retail price. Double their 
     wages, and the hat cost less than two cents more for us to 
     buy. Where do you think all the money is going?
       DAMON ROONEY. Another problem is lack of inspectors to 
     enforce labor laws. Because there are numerous labor laws and 
     U.S. national company protocols in places that are not being 
     followed, there are only eleven for the whole Dacca export 
     zone, which has over one million clothing workers. We must 
     get more inspectors in there, and also raise the penalties. 
     We could have U.S. inspectors inspect the factories that 
     export to the United

[[Page E816]]

     States, and if the conditions are not satisfactory, then the 
     products cannot be sent to the U.S. That way, factories don't 
     get paid if they don't follow the rules.
       ELIZABETH ECHEVERRIA. Before any of these solutions can be 
     put into motion, we must heighten awareness of these 
     injustices. American people have a strong voice. Because only 
     when these companies realize that their profit will go down 
     will they listen.
       We are the consumers and we have the power. So the most 
     important thing that all of you in the audience can do is 
     write letters to the CEOs of these places--the GAP, Liz 
     Clayburn, Reebok, et cetera--and let them know that the 
     public is concerned.
       DAMON ROONEY. Labor exploitation is a problem that affects 
     us all. We are the ones wearing the clothes and drinking the 
     coffee picked by exploited hands. It is up to us to change 
     these injustices.
       Thank you, Mr. Sanders, for your time.

       

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